I have a question about buying a car for a child. My husband and I bought our then 16-year-old daughter a used car after she got her license (it was partly a birthday present, too). We got the overwhelming feeling that the salesperson jacked up the cost when he realized the car was for a much-loved and somewhat indulged daughter. Our second daughter is hoping to get her license this summer, at which time we're going to buy HER a car - would it make sense to keep it quiet that the car is for her until we've agreed on a price?

For the record, the car we bought Daughter #1 was a 2008 Yaris, priced at $8,900 Canadian. By the time all the taxes and fees were included, the cost was almost $15,000. Does that sound exorbitant to anyone else?

I have a question about buying a car for a child. My husband and I bought our then 16-year-old daughter a used car after she got her license (it was partly a birthday present, too). We got the overwhelming feeling that the salesperson jacked up the cost when he realized the car was for a much-loved and somewhat indulged daughter. Our second daughter is hoping to get her license this summer, at which time we're going to buy HER a car - would it make sense to keep it quiet that the car is for her until we've agreed on a price?

For the record, the car we bought Daughter #1 was a 2008 Yaris, priced at $8,900 Canadian. By the time all the taxes and fees were included, the cost was almost $15,000. Does that sound exorbitant to anyone else?

I'm in the US so my perception may be skewed, but $6000 in fees and taxes seems like A LOT. Is that including interest paid on an auto loan or did you pay cash?

I have a question about buying a car for a child. My husband and I bought our then 16-year-old daughter a used car after she got her license (it was partly a birthday present, too). We got the overwhelming feeling that the salesperson jacked up the cost when he realized the car was for a much-loved and somewhat indulged daughter. Our second daughter is hoping to get her license this summer, at which time we're going to buy HER a car - would it make sense to keep it quiet that the car is for her until we've agreed on a price?

For the record, the car we bought Daughter #1 was a 2008 Yaris, priced at $8,900 Canadian. By the time all the taxes and fees were included, the cost was almost $15,000. Does that sound exorbitant to anyone else?

It does, but then again, I don't know what tax rate and fees you pay in Canada. I know here in the US we pay whatever sales tax is in the state you register your car in, and fees also depend on the state, but I don't know that they'd be that high. I don't know if letting them know it was for your daughter had anything to do with it, but I would check the contract very carefully to make sure they didn't slip any "extras" in you weren't aware of. Did you get any kind of extended warranty? that might account for the added cost.

We didn't get an extended warranty, but one extra charge we did get was $1000 for NOT getting financing. (We had the money saved up and gave them a certified cheque.) In hindsight, I wish we'd gotten the darned financing, saved the $1000 fee, and then paid it off immediately (unless, of course, there would have been a $1000 early-payoff fee!) This all makes my head hurt.

That $1000 charge is one reason why I'd never go back to that dealership (topic!). Another is that, when I asked how much of the car I could put on my credit card*, the guy got very huffy with me as if I was trying to pull something shady.

* The only reason I wanted to put it on my credit card was to get the cashback - as I said, we had the money saved.

We didn't get an extended warranty, but one extra charge we did get was $1000 for NOT getting financing. (We had the money saved up and gave them a certified cheque.) In hindsight, I wish we'd gotten the darned financing, saved the $1000 fee, and then paid it off immediately (unless, of course, there would have been a $1000 early-payoff fee!) This all makes my head hurt.

That $1000 charge is one reason why I'd never go back to that dealership (topic!). Another is that, when I asked how much of the car I could put on my credit card*, the guy got very huffy with me as if I was trying to pull something shady.

* The only reason I wanted to put it on my credit card was to get the cashback - as I said, we had the money saved.

I've never heard of any charge for NOT financing through the dealership! Wow. I know they prefer you to since they make $$ on it, but if someone tried that on me, I'd be looking elsewhere to buy. And I will be in the market for a car in about 6 months or so.

The credit card I can see since maybe they didn't want to pay the merchant fee for that, but all they have to say nicely is, sorry, we don't take credit cards.

We didn't get an extended warranty, but one extra charge we did get was $1000 for NOT getting financing. (We had the money saved up and gave them a certified cheque.) In hindsight, I wish we'd gotten the darned financing, saved the $1000 fee, and then paid it off immediately (unless, of course, there would have been a $1000 early-payoff fee!) This all makes my head hurt.

Complete and total rip-off, I'm sorry to say. The right response isn't to get the financing, it's to walk out the door. This is just like the bazillion "fees" that get tacked on when you buy a house. Most of them are there just to pad the bill.

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Mark Twain

My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."

*blink* I just bought a car and paid cash....if they had told me there'd be an extra fee I would have bolted. And the taxes shouldn't have been that much - I think mine were $1200 or so, on a $20k car.

Yeah, we had a strong feeling we were being ripped off. Unfortunately, our daughter had fallen in love with the car - it's an orange Yaris which she promptly named The Kumquat. We said afterwards that, had the car been for us, we would've walked away.

VorGuy has been known to take ME to the Fathers' Day tool sales, since I am more likely to be using any given tool in the house than he is (power tool or not). Seriously, we get something and I assemble it that day or overnight (depending on how complicated it is and when we bring it home). He takes.....longer.

Which is part of why I started being the handy person around the house for minor repairs.

I'm a single mom. If it needs to get done, I have to do it. Well, sort of. Now that the boys are getting older I'm teaching them how to do some things. My oldest is currently repairing a bathroom sink that got broken with something heavy fell on it. I can't tell you how many times I've complained to management at hardware stores when salespeople have been dismissive of me when I was attempting to purchase tools and other supplies. It's one of my life's greatest aggravations.

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Some people lift weights. I lift measures. It's a far more esoteric workout. - (Quoted from a personal friend)

What is it with car dealerships and not listening to people? When we bought our last minivan, we nearly walked out of one dealership. We knew what we wanted, there were none on the lot or in the area, so we had to order it. The dealer tried to get us to take an SUV on the showroom floor. Not the model we wanted, not the mileage we wanted, not the color we wanted, not the options we wanted. He tried to push this thing FOUR times, once while we were sitting there signing the papers to order the minivan. After the fourth time, I looked at him and said "If you try one more time to sell us that SUV, we are tearing up this paperwork and walking out, AFTER we tell your manager that you lost this sale. And then we will go home, find the corporate information, and tell THEM. Now, are you going to try again?" He just sulked and took our money and paperwork.

I'd lay bets that either the dealership or the manufactuer had a nice premium on that SUV for the salespeople. I've heard of that for used cars; if a particular car has been sitting around too long, the salesman who finally sells it gets an extra percentage or two commission.

Yeah, we had a strong feeling we were being ripped off. Unfortunately, our daughter had fallen in love with the car - it's an orange Yaris which she promptly named The Kumquat. We said afterwards that, had the car been for us, we would've walked away.

Ah well. You live and you learn, eh?

I would post your experience on Yelp or another review website. You definitely got ripped off.

DH & I have always paid cash for our cars. We have never incurred a "penalty" for paying up front. If a dealer ever tries that on me, no matter how much DH gushes over the car, we're walking.